Swann Songs (The Boston Uncommon Mysteries Book 4) (21 page)

“Better watch what you say,” Deming chuckled. “Just some friendly advice from an attorney. Free of charge. If Keegan heard that, it would sound like a motive for murder.”

“No!” Gabriel squawked. “I never touched her. I was in love with Sonia.”

“You were hanging around her that week,” I said. “Duff caught you with Sonia, and I saw you at the hotel the day before Duff died.”

Gabriel thought twice before answering. “No, Eja. You`re mistaken. Besides, how would I get cyanide? I`m an English professor, not a scientist.”

Something clicked in my brain as I recalled high tea at Fess Paskert’s.

“You took that tour of Paskert’s lab. There were plenty of noxious chemicals there. Anika and I saw the pictures.”

I enjoyed the way Gabriel’s panicky eyes darted from me to Deming almost as much as I savored those shrimp. Almost.

He clutched my wrist as if he were drowning. “I never touched anything. Honest. Ask Paskert if you don`t believe me. He had to corral Sonia and Nadia a couple of times but not me.”

Deming’s frown should have warned him. I`d seen storm clouds more benign than that. “Never touch Eja again. You did enough damage before.”

Gabriel leapt back two paces. “Sorry. No harm meant. This situation is driving me crazy. Everything is crumbling around me, and I feel helpless.” His voice throbbed with a fake penitence that branded him a fraud. “Keegan has it in for me. I can`t sleep, and the noose is tightening. I can feel it.”

Deming’s face was a blank wall of indifference. “Unfortunate. I suggest you contact Pamela as soon as possible. She`ll know what to do.” He looked across the room and locked eyes with Bolin. “My parents are ready to go. Come on, Eja, let`s join them.”

This time I didn`t object when Deming took my hand and nudged me across the room. I glimpsed the envy in Gabriel’s eyes and something even more satisfying: He was baffled. Clearly his discarded ex-wife had some redeeming qualities after all. Against the odds she had snagged a Swann.

Chapter Twenty-Three

BEFORE LEAVING WE stopped to thank our host for an interesting evening. Sorrel shook Deming’s hand and kissed my cheek with practiced Continental grace.

“I`m so glad you joined us,” he said. “Sonia didn`t have many friends, but she admired you.”

“Me?” I couldn`t imagine a slick number like Sonia Reyes finding anything about me worth mentioning.

Sorrel’s smile transformed his rather ordinary features into something magical. “You really don`t understand, do you, Eja? Despite her success, Sonia envied what you have.”

He noticed my bemused expression and laughed. “Think, Eja. You`re a beautiful woman and a respected writer with an adoring husband. Sonia desperately wanted that for herself.”

My brain was stuck in neutral. Was he mocking me? Long ago I accepted my role as the smart girl and loyal friend, bumbling Sancho Panza to CeCe’s elegant Quixote. Beauty wasn`t even a consideration.

“I tell her that all the time,” Deming said, “but she won`t believe me. So stubborn.” He bent down and tenderly kissed the top of my head.

“People have such different images of us,” I said. “It`s hard to know what`s true.” I stopped speaking before I became whiny. After all, I had nothing to complain about. In fact, my life was fantastic.

Sorrel nodded. “The public image often differs from the private person. Sonia was many things to many people. Some inspirational, others less so.”

“And Duff Ryder?” I asked. “She always seemed to fade into the background. Even her murder is just a footnote.”

“She was an idealist,” Sorrel said, “no pushover by any means. Duff stood up for her beliefs no matter the cost. Sonia just couldn`t understand that. So few of us have that kind of courage.”

“It may have gotten her killed,” Deming suggested.

Sorrel glanced quickly around the room. “No one could guess she`d try that throat spray. It belonged to Sonia, after all.”

I recalled Sonia’s gruff response to Duff that evening and her irritation about the delay in fetching her spray. Anyone could have overheard her—Sonia’s outrage was quite evident. Had the murderer somehow tricked Duff into using that spray, or was Sonia the intended victim all along?

“You`re dreaming, Eja,” Deming said. “Some night owl you are. It`s not even ten o`clock.”

“Sorry.” I stifled a big yawn. “I guess I`m just a party pooper.”

Anika joined us, linking arms with me. “I enjoyed myself, Sorrel. Thanks for everything.” She gestured toward Bolin, who was vainly trying to extricate himself from Fess Paskert’s clutches. “Go help your dad, Deming. He`s got an early day tomorrow.”

I elbowed Anika when I spied Zarina heading for Deming. “Uh-oh. Another Swann conquest.”

“Interesting woman, wouldn`t you agree?” Sorrel glanced down. “Zarina blamed Sonia for Duff’s death. She never quite bought into the lookism crusade either. Felt it distracted from COWE`s mission. They quarrelled about it all the time. Zarina called her a phony if you can believe it.”

“Zarina believes in her cause,” I said, “but politics aside she still wants Sonia’s money. Duff’s money, actually. You know, her share of the profits from
Worm
. She told me that herself.”

Anika lowered her voice and whispered. “Wait a minute! Wasn`t Zarina in the building the afternoon Sonia died? Of course plenty of others were too, but that is suggestive.”

Sorrel flinched, making me curse our carelessness and insensitivity. In the quest to solve the murders we had overlooked the impact on the one person who loved Sonia.

“Forgive us,” Anika said. “We should never have mentioned it. Of all people I should have known better.”

He waved away our protests. “Don`t. She`s still with me. Always will be.”

Anika embraced him. “Of course. Those we love never leave us.”

“Justice may come in this world or the next, but it will come. I`ve resigned myself to that.” His shoulders slumped despite the brave talk, as if magnifying the burden Sonia’s murder had placed upon him. Still, Sorrel seemed strangely at peace with the notion of justice deferred. I am more Old Testament about such things—“an eye for an eye” and all that does it for me. Come to think of it, even the Beatitudes praised those who hunger and thirst for justice. Good to see that my Sunday school training had not been in vain!

We said our goodbyes and were soon joined by the male Swanns. Bolin’s expression was bemused, but Deming’s scowl told a different tale.

“Let`s get out of here,” he grunted. “I`ve been squeezed and prodded like a jelly donut all night.”

“Tut tut,” I said. “That`s the price of beauty. Who can blame poor Zarina?
Noblesse oblige
and all that.”

Although his proud parents chuckled, Deming was in no mood for levity. “We need to compare notes,” he said. “How about stopping at the Charles for a nightcap?”

Bolin looked at Anika and nodded. “We`ll meet you at the Regatta Bar in thirty minutes.”

“Hold on.” Anika held up her hand. “I suggest Club Noir instead. That was where we last saw Sonia, so it seems only fitting.”

She and Bolin exchanged a look so intimate that I almost blushed. Like a voyeur, I couldn`t look away even though I tried. Their union was the most incredible thing I had ever witnessed. Love coupled with boundless respect—hard to beat that partnership.

Deming herded me toward the Porsche, still grumbling about his encounter with Zarina. “Don`t think I missed that third-rate hustler`s moves either,” he said.

“Zarina?” I was puzzled.

He opened the door and tucked me into the front passenger`s seat. “Hardly. I`m referring to Gabriel Mann. That sympathy act he put on was disgusting. Wouldn`t fool a toddler.”

I`ve learned to ignore Deming’s rants until they run their course, especially when they involve Gabriel. Normally, my husband represses his emotions. He says it`s the Asian side of him, but I know better. These minor eruptions are a type of therapeutic safety valve for a man who can otherwise seem stuffy. By remaining calm and pasting a sweet smile on my face, I gain the upper hand, and he gets relief. Fair trade all around.

At the first stoplight, Deming took my hand and kissed it. “Sorry. Tantrums aren`t an endearing trait. I know that. Bad example coming from a grown man. More like something you`d expect from a child.”

I laced my fingers behind my head and took a deep breath. It didn`t take a mind reader to see where his thoughts were going. Nadia’s comments about barren thirty-something hags really hit home with me, and despite my best efforts, I couldn`t banish them. Thirty-five was relatively young, wasn`t it? Plenty of women got pregnant at that age. Famous ones, even. A niggling fear had me in its grasp, one I couldn`t share even with Anika—especially with Anika who yearned for grandchildren. Would Deming still love me if for some reason I couldn`t bear children, or would I be exiled and replaced like Iran`s legendary Princess Soraya?

“Penny for your thoughts,” Deming said. “Still debating whether or not to keep me?”

“Nope. I`m glad you show the occasional flaw. Makes you human. Otherwise you`d be perfect, and that`s tough to live up to.”

His voice quaked a bit as he whispered. “Love you, Eja Kane. Always will.”

UNLIKE OUR LAST visit only five days ago, Club Noir was packed with pleasure seekers tonight. Deming overcame that obstacle by a deftly placed bill in the receptionist`s palm accompanied by a devastating smile. Before long we were seated at a table for four in a secluded alcove away from the hubbub.

`This place fits right into something by Hammett,” Anika said. “Nick and Nora would definitely approve.”

“I suppose you want some Pellegrino,” Deming teased. “You and Eja are always so predictable.”

Maybe it was the setting or the time of night. Either way I surfed a wave of inspiration. “Okay, smarty pants, we`ll order for you. Prepare to be surprised.”

Anika and I put our heads together and made our selections. When the waiter arrived we were ready.

“Two Black Dahlias for the ladies,” Anika said, “and the gentlemen will have the Dick Tracy Detective.”

Bolin’s brows shot up, but he went along with it. Deming was less diplomatic.

“Okay, you two. What`s up? I know those drinks have some special meaning.”

“A Black Dahlia was the last drink that Sonia Reyes ordered on the day she was murdered. It seems only fitting.”

“I see,” Bolin said. “And the Dick Tracy part is self-explanatory. Nice touch, ladies.”

After sampling our drinks, we traded information. Deming was brimming over with enthusiasm, a veritable Secretariat at the starting gate. That metaphor took my thoughts down another path that was quite unworthy of a genteel MFA from Brown University. I thanked my lucky stars that Zarina wasn`t there to watch him. Those pulsating muscles could erode any woman`s self-control.

“Remember my conversation about Sorrel’s artwork?” he asked.

“Tin typing. I thought it was lovely. Sorrel is far more talented than he admits.” Anika smiled fondly at her son. “Now tell us what you found out.”

Deming’s interest in the process had surprised me. Although he admires art and collects it, he had never shown any desire to replicate anything.

“I recalled reading something about tin typing,” Deming said. “As in, the chemicals employed. Devotees insist on using the original techniques. It`s quite involved, actually.”

He was leading up to something, keeping us one step short. I harnessed my impatience and bit my tongue.

“Come on, Dem. Tell us!” Mothers have more privileges than wives. Anika gave her son the evil eye.

“Cyanide. It`s one of the chemicals used.” Deming took a mighty swallow of his cocktail. “Don`t you see? He has all of them stored in a little darkroom upstairs.”

Anika narrowed her eyes. “Surely you`re not accusing Sorrel. Why would he murder Duff or especially Sonia?”

“Nah. All I`m saying is that`s another source of the chemical. Right at hand in full reach of a number of suspects.”

I recalled Sorrel’s comments. Zarina and Nadia as well as Duff had been around constantly while Sonia was writing
Worm
. Any one of them might have pinched the noxious stuff.

“There`s something else,” Bolin said. “I had quite a chat with Fess Paskert.”

Anika squeezed her husband’s arm. “Don`t be modest, darling. He was velcroed to your side.”

Bolin shook his head ruefully. “I don`t know about that. More the power of the purse than personal magnetism. Anyway, we discussed
Worm
, and he was very animated. Apparently Sonia taunted him about it, especially that FetLife thing. Fess even stopped by her house several times to try to change her mind.”

“Any luck?” Deming asked.

“None. Frankly, I think he was at the end of his tether. He proclaimed his innocence of course, and Sonia swore that she fabricated everything in the book. Realistically, universities rely on donors—big donors—most of whom are fairly conservative about the kinkier side of life. They wouldn`t be thrilled by the alleged incompetence either. Even a hint of scandal could have ruined Paskert’s career.”

My mind buzzed with speculation and a dozen theories. Each of the prime suspects had the opportunity to filch cyanide and a motive to eliminate Sonia. Duff Ryder had more friends than foes, and with the exception of Nadia, no one would benefit from her death. Unless of course Duff knew or saw something that made her vulnerable. By the time I tuned back in, Anika had already launched her tale.

“Melanie can be quite charming under the right circumstances. Naturally she was uncomfortable at tonight`s gathering. Any wife would be. I`m surprised she even showed her face.”

“What caused the blow-up with Nadia?” I asked. “We were downstairs during most of the fireworks.”

Apparently Nadia had made a pest of herself with Gabriel, or as Miss Marple often observed, “Made a dead set at him.” Melanie was not amused.

Bolin shrugged. “Why does she bother? Melanie has money and looks. She can do better than Gabriel. No offense, Eja.”

“None taken.” I sipped my cocktail to avoid treading on dangerous ground.

“I have a theory about all that.” Anika said. “Melanie talks a good game, but deep inside she loves Gabriel. There`s no other explanation for her behavior. For all we know she argued with Sonia and coshed her on the head. She was on the scene, remember.”

Both Swann men looked mystified by that insight into the feminine psyche. I understood even though my pride would never allow me to admit it. Instead, I let my mischievous side out to play. “Such intrigue. Like Zarina and Deming. Tell them about your assignation with the queen of COWE.”

Deming growled a response that was quite unprintable. Finally with Anika’s coaxing, he recounted his conversation with Zarina. I added my news about Nadia’s alleged pregnancy.

Anika clasped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my! If it`s true, that`s the last straw for Melanie.”

It was Bolin who brought us back on task. “While all this is fascinating, I`m not sure it adds much information about Sonia’s murder. Unless you suspect Nadia.”

I held up my hand to stop the discussion. “Maybe. The girl is crazed about Gabriel. Positively unhinged. Gabriel swears he never touched her and that he loved Sonia.”